Business Law Marketing

Careers and Colleges, Jan, 2001

Every day Laura Casing pulls on her jeans, slings her backpack over her shoulder, and heads off to log in another day in the high-powered world of dot-coms. She's only 27, but already she's an associate account manager at iVillage, a hot Internet-based marketing and information site in New York City. There, she works closely with the sales department to make sure that all the ads are launched and looking good, and then tracks how well those ads actually perform.

"With new software programs, we can keep track of how many potential customers look at an ad, and even how many people follow through and buy something through an advertising client's Web site," she says.

It's a high-pressure job -- Casing is usually at work until 6:30 every night, and she works from home using her laptop computer, too. But she loves every minute of it. "It's a very young atmosphere, fast-paced--we talk about real time and 'Internet time.' I love the challenge, and I'm always learning something."

Across the country, young people like casing are flocking to careers in business and law. With the economy charging ahead at full speed, so are the opportunities.

"In this market, we don't have enough new grads to refer to the companies that are clamoring for them," says Patrick Lenahan, director of the career center at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, where the applications to the Gabelli School of Business have increased 55 percent in the past three years and corporate recruitment efforts have doubled.

What It Takes

Career experts all agree: The most important thing you can bring to business and law are good communication skills. "You need to be detail-oriented, and have good research and analytical skills," says Susan Giundi, director of the office of career services at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor. "Writing skills are always important, and so are interpersonal skills."

Although business majors are in demand, liberal arts grads are also sought after. "Depending on their area of expertise, liberal arts grads do well in business," says Lenahan. "English majors tend to be good at presentations and writing persuasively, and they tend to go into marketing and advertising. Math majors are recruited for banking, and history majors make excellent researchers. Even philosophy majors, who are taught to analyze and work through arguments, have been finding jobs with corporations."

Although students headed for law careers can major in anything as undergraduates (a "pre-law" major is not a necessity), many opt to major in English or philosophy to exercise their communication and reasoning skills.

Lenahan points out, though, that technical expertise is always important in business and law. Casing graduated from Barnard College in New York City with a degree in English, but she knows software such as Power Point and Excel, which helped her land her job at iVillage.

Business Opportunities

For those with a yen to be part of the business world, the opportunities are limitless and the salaries are impressive. Among the business disciplines, new grads with degrees in business administration have seen their average salary offers jump to more than $35,000; accounting and marketing graduates are seeing similar offers.

One of the biggest demands comes from consulting firms, which topped the list of the top five employers for new college graduates. "Many organizations are now outsourcing selected projects instead of doing them inhouse," says Camille Luckenbaugh, spokesperson for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. "That's a reflection of how the work world has changed. Consulting firms are designed to come in, do the job, and move on to the next organization." Another hot business field is hospitality management. "Our seniors are getting five to ten job offers each," says Sarah Parks, director of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.

Is an MBA Worth It?

Traditionally, young business tycoons climbing the corporate ladder have taken time off early in their careers to acquire a master's degree in business administration (MBA). But in today's hot job market, many are reluctant to invest the time and the money-- tuition and lost salary can add up to as much as $200,000--in going back to school.

Since 1996, most top business schools have seen a big drop in applicants. At the University of Chicago, for Instance, applications to the MBA program were down 24 percent for the 2000-2001 academic year, In the future, many aspiring executives will polish their career skills by attending "corporate academies," classes offered on-site by their companies, or by studying for an MBA online.

But no matter how much time you're willing to invest in your education, the business world has plenty to offer you. With Just an associate's degree, you can work as a Web administrator, a computer network administrator, or an office administrator.

Legal Matters